Secondary employment in the Bundestag: More than one in three MPs report income

According to the analysis, more than one in three parliamentarians has one Paid part-time work or monetary benefits reported. In the Union faction it is on average one in two people. This particularly often involves functions in socio-political associations or interest groups, foundation work or party-affiliated associations such as the CDU Economic Council or the SPD Economic Forum. Especially among the Social Democrats, connections to an association or foundation in the party environment are particularly common.

Other political mandates also played a role. 40 percent of MPs said they sat in state or district councils and local councils. In the AfD and the Union, this affects almost every second parliamentary group member.

MPs must disclose their income

However, income is unevenly distributed, as a look at the top earners shows. According to parliamentwatch.de, Green Party politician Ophelia Nick tops the list of parliamentarians with the highest additional income. Nick has earned 2.7 million euros since the start of the legislative period. According to the portal, a large part of these are profit distributions from companies that hold a stake in the Voith technology group. Nick inherited the shares.

Alexander Engelhard from the CSU ranks second. He reported additional income of 1.5 million euros. AfD politician Sebastian Maack is in third place. Maack also earned 439,000 euros.

Members of the Bundestag are allowed to take on additional jobs in addition to their mandate – even paid ones. However, the money may not be accepted in return for voting behavior.

The Parliamentary Act stipulates that the exercise of the mandate must be the focus of the work of parliamentarians. The additional income must also be reported to the President of the Bundestag.